3-D Visualization of Cassiopeia A
A research team has released a unique look of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A). By
combining data from Chandra, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and ground-
based optical observations, astronomers have been able to construct
the first three-dimensional fly-through of a supernova remnant. This
visualization (shown here as a still image) was made possible by importing the data
into a medical imaging program that has been adapted for
astronomical use. Commercial software was then used to create the
version of the 3-D data. The green region shown in the image is mostly iron observed in
X-rays; the yellow region is mostly argon and silicon seen in X-rays,
optical and infared and the red region is cooler debris seen in the
infared. The positions of these points in three-dimensional space were
found by using the Doppler effect and simple assumptions about the
supernova explosion. View Movie(Credit: NASA/CXC/MIT/T.Delaney et al.)

Still Illustrations of Cassiopeia A
This series of still illustrations depicts a fly-through of Cas A based on the 3-D representation constructed from Chandra and Spitzer data. New features unseen in traditional 2-D data sets are visible, including details of how the parent star exploded. The green region is mostly iron observed in X-rays; the yellow region is mostly argon and silicon seen in X-rays, optical and infared; the red region is cooler debris seen in the infared and the blue region is the outer blast wave, most prominent in X-rays. View MovieCredit: Visualization: NASA/CXC/D.Berry; Model: NASA/CXC/MIT/T.Delaney et al.